Kastles: Medieval Mayhem
Kastles: Medieval Mayhem Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Setup
Setup is for 2-4 players.
- Remove the four Kingster and Queenie cards from the pack and deal one to each player face up.
- Shuffle the rest of the cards and deal six face down to each player. Do not look at these. These cards will form your kastle walls and should be laid out around your Kingster and Queenie (see Kastle Set Up below).
- Deal five 'hand' cards to each player. You can look at these but don't show them to anyone else. Place the remaining cards face down in the middle of the table to form a draw deck. The discard pile will build next to it as the game progresses (shuffle and reuse when full).
Kastle Set Up
The printed diagram (KASTLE SET UP) shows Kingster & Queenie with the face-down kastle wall cards laid out around them, and the five hand cards and draw deck beside them.
On Your Go
- Always start your turn with five cards. If you have fewer than five cards, take cards from the top of the draw deck to replenish your hand to five, then play your turn.
- Starting with the grumpiest player and going clockwise, you may play as many cards as you can against other players. Some cards ATTACK, some DEFEND and some do BOTH. Cards can be played in any order and on any player. If you play all your cards in one go this is a FRENZY: pick up another five cards from the draw deck and play again. You can only do this once per turn.
Put any spent cards, destroyed wall cards, or cards used as ammo face up on the discard pile. Cards with a red dot can be played out of your turn (the attacker continues once resolved).
Catapults and Ammo
The Catapult card is played next to your kastle and uses your hand cards as ammo. The boulder symbols in the corner of your cards show each card's ammo value. You need exactly 10 boulders to fire one Catapult. To fire your Catapult, combine and play your ammo cards, choose a target wall and fire! Wall destroyed! Catapult cards remain in play and can be reused until stolen or destroyed. Ammo cards are discarded once used, along with any destroyed walls. See Card Guide for multiple catapult attacks using 12 and 15 rock values.
Can't Go?
You may spend a turn to discard a card from your hand and pick up the top card from the draw deck.
Once per game, you may spend a turn to discard ALL your cards and draw five new ones from the draw deck.
Example 1 - Attack
It's Player 1's turn and she's ready to attack Player 2.
From her five hand cards, Player 1 has laid a Saboteur on Player 2's wall, and also played a Gunpowder and Flaming Arrow combination.
On Player 2's turn, he must play a Jacko card, or this wall is destroyed.
This attack destroys the wall card immediately.
All destroyed walls and resolved attack cards are placed on the discard pile.
Example 2 - Catapult
It's Player 2's turn and he launches a catapult attack.
Player 2 has placed his Catapult next to his kastle. Player 2 plays a Catapult. Using hand cards with a combined ammo score of 10 (2+8=10), he fires the boulders at Player 1's kastle, immediately destroying a wall. His Catapult remains in play until destroyed or stolen.
Card Guide
- CRUCIBLE. Reflects a Catapult strike back to the attacker (one Crucible reflects all damage from multiple attacks). Or play two together to destroy one Catapult.
- SABOTEUR. Saboteurs destroy kastle walls by stealth. To play, lay a Saboteur on an opponent's wall and if they haven't removed it with a Jacko by the end of their next turn, the wall is destroyed.
- JACKO. Jacko is a builder and Saboteur hunter. Play to remove an enemy Saboteur from your wall. Can also rebuild a destroyed wall by being placed face up in any gap in your kastle. Then on your next turn discard the Jacko and replace it with a new face-down wall card from the draw deck. Jackos can only rebuild up to the original number of walls in any available gap. Two Jackos can also destroy (discard) one enemy Moat.
- THIEVES. Play as a pair to steal one opponent's Catapult or Boat card in play, then place next to your own kastle. It's now yours to use.
- SPY. Spies look under walls. Play and swap with any face-down wall card in any kastle (including your own), laying it face down. Take that wall card into your hand.
- FLAMING ARROW. Can be laid on any Gunpowder card already in play to ignite the Gunpowder and destroy that wall. Can also be combined with Gunpowder on the same turn for immediate ignition. Play two Flaming Arrows to destroy one Boat.
- WATER. Used on your turn to douse and remove one enemy Gunpowder card on your kastle. Can also be played to neutralise a Flaming Arrow and Gunpowder attack combo or a Flaming Arrow attack on one Boat.
- MOAT. (Optional in a two-player game.) Laid in front of your kastle and remains in play until destroyed, a Moat prevents any Gunpowder or Saboteur attacks, or prevents Thieves from stealing a Catapult.
FAQs
Q: SPIES - HOW DO THEY WORK? A: Spies are sneaky, releasing cards from the walls into the game. Simply show a Spy to the other players and then swap it face down for any wall card, including your own. Leave it there and take that wall card into your hand to use immediately or on a subsequent turn.
Q: WHAT ARE THE BOULDERS ON THE CARDS? A: The little boulders on the cards are ammo and are used with a Catapult to attack your opponents. Cards that have boulders on them can be played in one of two ways: either ignore the boulders and play the card normally (e.g. a Jacko), or use the boulders to carry out a Catapult attack. See the Catapult card and Example 2.
Q: WHEN AM I OUT OF THE GAME? A: Your game ends when your last wall card falls and only your Kingster and Queenie are left. Note: if a Jacko has been placed to repair the wall on your next turn and you're attacked before your turn, then the Jacko hasn't completed the job and you're still out of the game.
Q: WHAT HAPPENS TO DESTROYED WALLS? A: The wall card is placed on the discard pile along with any other cards that were on the wall at the time (including the attacker's cards just played on the wall).
Q: WHEN DO I ATTACK OR DEFEND? A: You can attack on your turn. You can defend yourself out of turn by playing any cards in your hand that have a red dot (play then continues with the attacker).
Q: HOW MUCH CAN A JACKO REBUILD? A: A Jacko can never rebuild more than the original number of walls but can rebuild in any available space.
Q: KINGSTER & QUEENIE - WHAT DO THEY DO? A: Nothing. They're just there for the tourists. Check the website for some variant rules where the royals have to work a bit harder than in the standard game.
Q: WHEN SHOULD I USE A CATAPULT? A: Keeping them secret protects them while you build ammo cards, but they take up hand space. Once played, they can be stolen or destroyed, even before firing a shot. You can't take them back into your hand, so choose your moment wisely.
Q: WHEN DO I DRAW NEW CARDS? A: You can only draw new cards at the beginning of your turn, before you begin your attacks. Drawing from the discard pile is not allowed (dead saboteurs and broken catapults are not very effective).
Q: HOW DO I LAY MY ATTACK CARDS? A: Lay your cards so that you can still see part of the kastle wall beneath (see Example 1).
Q: CAN I PLAY MULTIPLE ATTACK CARDS ON A WALL CARD? A: You can only lay one type of each attack card on a wall. Exception: you can combine a Gunpowder card and Flaming Arrow card to attack the same wall card.